2017: The Year You Make Travel Happen

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions people make is to travel more. It’s right up there with eating better and going to the gym more.

And, like so many other resolutions, this one starts with the best of intentions and motivations but often fails.

When asked why, most people make up some reason involving time and money. They ran out of time, life got in the way, they forgot to ask for time off, work got too busy, they never saved enough, couldn’t find a cheap ticket, yada, yada, yada.

Tomorrow is the day to hit the gym, give up pizza, read more, or find that cheap trip to Paris.

But, when you dive deeper, you usually find people don’t follow through because they are too afraid to commit. They half-checked flights, looked up some hotels, and maybe even went to a bookstore to buy a guidebook. But when it came down to purchasing the trip, they hemmed and hawed and said, “Let me think about it a little. Maybe tomorrow.”

Turning a dream into a reality can elicit a sort of “ohh f%%k, this is happening” moment. There’s always a mix of excitement and fear. “Yes!” to doing it but also an “uhh, what did I get myself into?” feeling.

Soon you’ll be in a place you know nothing about, where you know no one, and (maybe) don’t speak the language.

The reality of that stops more people than you think from hitting “Book Now” because they aren’t sure they are “ready.”

Now, I know that you, dear reader, have a sense of adventure. You’re reading this blog, right? This is probably not your problem.

But time and/or money? These things probably worry you.

Someone literally asked me in an email last week: “Why do people still think travel is expensive?!”

When I read that, I screamed at my computer, arms flailing, yelling “Right? Why indeed? That is such a good question! I still can’t figure it out! It drives me insane!”

With all the blogs, magazines, apps, travel hacking websites, and deal sites out there, you would think the persistent myth that travel is expensive would have started to fade away by now. But it is still there. It’s hard to get rid of for the millions of people who grew up in the age of “travel = expensive hotel/resort vacation.” For the other millions in countries that are just getting the purchasing power to think about overseas travel, travel is very much still a luxury.

And luxury is synonymous with expensive.

However, there are travel deals all the time if you know where to look. 2016 saw some incredible cheap fares, and 2017 is shaping up to be no different. (There are some crazy $400 USD round-trip flights to Europe right now.) Additionally, the sharing economy has only grown in recent years, allowing you to bypass the old travel gatekeepers, and connect with locals for a cheaper trip.

So today, I’m going to get you somewhere in the world. I’m going to show you the secret to finding a cheap vacation so you can start 2017 off right and not back out of your resolution. Ready?

Second, book a flight. Lock yourself into a trip. Don’t worry about anything else. I promise you everything will work out. You can worry about a hotel, what to pack, day-to-day expenses, time off, what to do, etc., later. Those things don’t matter and there are many ways to cut those expenses! Worry about the logistics later.

Third, well, that’s all there is to it. There is no third.

Once you make the commitment by buying a flight, the rest is easy. Over and over again, I hear from travelers, “I was so worried about my trip. I built it up in my head so much and began to fret about all the ‘what ifs,’ but once I got on the road, it all fell into place and I wondered why I was ever worried at all.”

I know it seems scary to take the leap, especially when you are on your own. I know it can be unnerving to run out of your comfort zone. It’s basically this cartoon below, right?

How I’m Going to Help Make 2017 the Year of Travel

I’m going to take five readers and help them plan their trip from start to finish. I’m going to help them each step of the way (as much as they need me to) and use their examples to show again that you don’t need to be rich to travel – or that you just aren’t limited to cheaper, developing countries.

UPDATE: SPOTS ARE NOW FULL! THANKS FOR APPLYING

Just email a screenshot of where you are going, as well as the following information: your name, phone number, and age; a short bio; the ideal budget for your trip; and anything else I need to know. (Please keep it to no more than two paragraphs.)

There are no fees or strings attached. I’ll work with you via email, phone, and Skype to create a plan and help you stick to it so you can travel sooner than you planned and for less money.

I’ll feature these case studies on the blog when they are done as a way to help and inspire others (so you have to be OK with sharing your story on the website).

If you want to go somewhere but have always been a bit too afraid to pull the trigger, do so today, and let me help guide you out the door.

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Good luck with another round of case studies, Matt. As for myself, even after travelling relatively a lot, I still get an incredible mix of feelings when I book a flight, with joy and excitement clearly prevailing, but with a certain amount of nervousness as well 🙂 But yeah, there’s no way back and I love it that way. Happy travels in 2017!

I cant wait to see the case studies – I hope one is a family with small children so I can get some good ideas…. hoping to travel to china in the next 5 years, we have 6 people (4 small kids right now) so would love some good ideas on how to get it cheaper!

Fantastic idea on the case studies there Matt, a great way to show folks that travel is for everyone regardless of circumstances. When we set out in early 2016 we had some nervous energy going on despite some travelling experience. I guess you always get that stepping into the unknown, whatever the arena, but as long as it’s tinged with excitement you know deep down that you are doing the right thing. Happy travels in 2017 everyone!

Always amazed how difficult it is for people to let go. We can smoke a cigarette but we are afraid to ride a horse, or tell someone we love them.

I have played with (uncollared) tigers, been thrown into a river by a playful elephant, and climbed the pyramids. Still, this advice hits home. We have to motivate ourselves even when we know the outcome will be positive. Truly a strange part of being human.

Yes! After managing to go to Burning Man for the first time despite having only $200 each month that did NOT go to fixed expenses, and being from a humble family background, I know that I can make my trip to Berlin happen.

I have a desire to travel for an entire year, visiting Reyjavik, Japan, Bali, and Thailand somewhere in there.

I’ve been reading travel blogs non-stop since being in my call center job over the past year and after manifesting some amazingly unexpected things, I would love to be a part of your case study for traveling abroad. There’s still a fear of finances that I wish to leap over.

Travel, especially abroad, can seem scary at first, but like all skills, you get good at it the more you do it. Eventually it’s no big deal. Which is not to say you get tired of it or cease to be amazed by travel. You still enjoy it and marvel at it, but without the stress. On the other hand, that photo of skydiving (?) over Dubai (I recognize the Palm) is terrifying.

Yes, it’s all in the mind. Every time before hitting the magic “book now” button, I feel my head go crazy heavy. As soon as I click, it’s like releasing a ton of stress with a big sigh of relief. Would love to see a case study from a working couple making it happen.

That’s so awesome! I wish I could participate at this time! I will absolutely be traveling this year, but booking now simply isn’t an option (I have extenuating financial circumstances that will be cleared up this year). And if I’m being candid, this is the first time that it is true and not an merely an excuse to stay in my comfort zone.

Even with the tough circumstances, we’ve managed a few overnight trips and days trips to new places. Thank you for the inspiration!

Oh I\\\\\\\’m bummed to receive the email newsletter too late about the opportunity after the blog post had been up for over 24 hours. I would\\\\\\\’ve been all over it but you\\\\\\\’ve got me looking into flights to Mexico. 🙂

I wish you could have explained that travel is not expensive to a woman who told me just yesterday that I have more money than she does because I travel. What? I asked her how much she and her husband get every month, good grief they have over a thousand dollars a month more than I do coming into their accounts. I told her you can use air miles and get trips for nearly nothing. She simply said I don’t have one of those cards. And again said that I have more money than she does. NO I DON’t. I use air miles, I shop for low fares, I look for bargains in accommodations and I go!

The most fun I had on my last trip was a hostel in Chiang Mai. The Thai girl behind the counter and I hit it off and became Facebook friends. How awesom is that? And I had a single room with a private bath for $18.00. You have MORE fun meeting travelers in Hostels than 5 star hotels and geez does it make travel cheaper!

Oh I am still looking for either a cheap flight or maybe using air miles. I have a tour booked tho!My trip,is locked in! So not entering. Hope you get 8 wonderful people for adventures that will change their lives forever.

Wow!! You just nailed the exact point that justify why travel can\’t happen to most of us . Once you book the flight and you are halfway there. My husband and I have always desired for a trip to Europe and we booked our flight for our dream trip & will be going there in June\’17 . Looking forward for the eight travel stories !!

My first overseas trip was to Hong Kong . . . 11 years ago today – and haven\’t stopped. It took 18 months to plan. Actually, planning it was easy; saving the money took the longest (Matt has some solid tips to save money in other blog posts). So, take a deep breath and take action. We\’ll see you \”out there\” in 2017.

I plan to travel to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco later this year and would love to see some information from you about Morocco (a new place for my sister and I to travel). Congrats to all those who won Matt’s help. This is an awesome idea.

Hi Matt! Thank-you for another inspiring post! My son bought your book ‘Travel the World on $50 a Day’ and when I saw the book in his room I picked it up and started reading it….cover to cover… and it helped me overcome HUGE obstacles, and I took my teenagers on a wonderful trip to New York! We followed your tips and honestly it was very affordable… already planning the next trip!

Hi Matt, thanks for this post. Your posts always seem to get me, especially when I’m particularly feeling like I might never be able to make travel my lifestyle even though i want it so bad. You’re like Bam! wake up and make it happen. It’s as simple as booking a flight and everything else will fall into place. I guess i’ll be booking that flight to Madagascar and worry about everything else later.

Great post Matt! You’re so inspiring and I hope 2017 will be just as good as 2016 for you! I just started my travel blog in October, so 2017 should be a great year and I’m really looking forward to what it brings! Happy Travels 🙂

I\’m planning on going on a back packing to Europe in 2018. Is there a fee with your services to help people plan trips like this, and if so what is it? I would be interested in having help as I have not traveled for some time due to my anxiety just thinking about making plans and spending the money.

What a cool idea! I’m so happy you are helping people fulfill their dreams. I lived and taught English in Madrid for 2 years and I can attest to how traveling abroad (especially solo) REALLY brings out your inner strength and self reliance. It makes you feel like you can do anything, even if it is a bit uncomfortable at times. I’m back in the States now, but my goal for 2017 is to return to Madrid (gotta see my friends!) and visit Cuba. My boyfriend’s family is from Havana and he has never been, so we are more than excited to go!

Hi, I love to travel in the different part of the country and i travel about 20 + country i love their culture and there food.I love to travel now in this year 2017 i love to travel in canada because i found many interesting place there . you all will be happy to know in my travel i mostly pay only the price of Subway burgers. if you want the hidden Loophole that airline may not tell you about you can watch the video for understanding https://youtu.be/20MFqsgJcH4

Hey Matt – I have a challenge for you. Generally it gives me a pain in the you know what when people say \”how can you say travel is expensive??\” Well, travel is expensive for me. I live in South Africa. Our local currency is in the toilet, making travel anywhere, even locally within the country, something which only the privileged few can indulge in. Time is also a very genuine factor for me – I own/run two relatively new businesses (hospitality) and generally work no less than 80 hours a week, Sunday to Sunday. I did manage to take enough time off work recently to get married 🙂 however didn\’t have time or money for a honeymoon. My dream is to visit Thailand (northeast/chiang mai/ some non-tourist beach) I can commit to 12 days on land (not including flight time, which is a minimum of 16 hours from South Africa, via Qatar to BKK) My husband and I travel extremely light, and very unfussy. So my challenge is this: assist me with a ZAR to Baht budget friendly honeymoon of my dreams… I look forward to hearing from you!

Last summer I moved 5,000 miles away from home and let me tell you, booking the plane ticket was hard! I had been watching flights for a while now and got super nervous and finally found a good deal and then when I went to book I had to wait like 10 minutes with that “this is really happening, starting September 1st I’ll be out of this state!” I couldn’t believe it. I did book it though, and now I’m here!

Honestly booking the flight is the easy part for me, I could do it every week. It\’s only my pittance of annual leave and job that stops me (for now, hoping to become location independent soon). It astounds me how many people don\’t understand that travel can be as cheap or expensive as you want it to be, but I do always keep in mind that it\’s still a privilege having this lifestyle.

I absolutely agree with you Matt and the case studies is a great idea. No one should think that they can’t do it. Everyone is capable of travelling, they just need to plan it ahead of time and be practical.

Great post Matt, I totally agree with your points. If you really want to travel, all you have to do is to dedicate yourself to it. And once you get hooked to travelling, plans are going to present themselves.

I always wanted to go to Peru and always it was simply never the time/not enough holidays etc. Finally, I can totally do it this year, however, I literally caught myself on a thought that the reason I am hesitant right now (over the last 2 weeks) to buy the flights is simply because I feel scared that the dream will come true and be over. Isn’t it ridiculous? I know I will book it, but it is actually hard to finally ‘do’ something cause I am scared of the dream to be over…

I think traveling is one of the greatest things you can do with your life. It is the best way to spend money. I really would like to make 2017 my year of travel! Traveling is a priority for me and I want to see the world like you have! You definitely show me how important it is to get out of our comfort zone.

What a great article! This has really given me the motivation to go travelling this year to a few different places. It is difficult to get out of your comfort zone, leave what you know and try new experiences, food and weather, but it is worth it to gain a more open mind and knowledge about other cultures!

I love this article!!! I’m a stay at home mom of 2 young girls and this summer our family of 4 will go to Spain for 4 weeks. This will be our first time visiting Spain. I love everything about travel and every year I set my eye and heart on a new destination. I plan, research and book every single piece of our travel. Because I do this, I feel I’m able to make travel possible and within our very tight budget. I always plan for summer when the girls are out of school, but by October I have booked our plane tickets even though I don’t have all the other logistics figured out. I focus all my energy on those tickets and always score incredible deals and always non stop. The key to traveling on a tight budget with a family is advance planning. Believe me you can find amazing deals. We decide on a place by spring of the year before our travel date. I go full force to research and get an idea of truly how low cost we can do it for, if it meets the budget, then by Sept/Oct I focus on tickets and by Dec and early January our stays are booked. Then I can focus on all the other things calmly. By March we are 100% set and the excitement kicks in and the kids start the countdown until school is out and we start packing to go on our awesome adventure.

It always amazes people that we are going on vacations and live on one salary. The key is priority and that for me is travel. This year we went ahead and cut back on two other things that we felt we could live without and are now saving the extra cash. Which means more travel!!!!

I always try to encourage other families to travel more and when they say they can’t afford it because they are a family, I always say, cut back on things you don’t need and start saving that amount. It does add up over time.

Matt, thank you so much for your blog. I love it so much and find it so inspiring. Anything is possible!!! Happy travels for everyone.

Travel agent referred us to a company to obtain our Vietnamese visitor visas, and near as I can tell – we over paid by about $400.00! But, with THAT behind us, will enjoy our trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand! We got scammed before we left our country – and now a little wiser about scams around the world with this wonderful Blog. Thanks

Great post, Matt – booked up for Barcelona in April, and will be booking flight for Nepal tomorrow. I trekked the Annapurna Circuit in 2012 and have been threatening to go back ever since. Thanks for the push!